The Gravity Falls Game Night
by SmileDipper
Summary: Dipper and Mabel host a game night with their friends! After a few unexpected guests, Mabel goes up to the attic to find a game, even though what she finds is way more than just a game... I OWN NOTHING!
1. Let The Games Begin

"Grunkle Stan, tell me again, why are all the kids coming over here?" Mabel asked, setting a board game onto the table. Her brother stood nearby, dusting off a shelf of shrunken heads.

"Because," Stan answered, setting out a small plate of drinks. "The town has a game night for the kids once a week, and this week is my turn to host it."

"And you're actually doing it?" Dipper added, moving from the shrunken heads to the dinosaur skull. Stan shrugged.

"At best, it'll bring business and keep you two busy." The doorbell echoed through the living room. "They're here. Mabel, try not to weird everyone out."

"No promises!" she said, smiling and saluting cheerfully.

"And Dipper, be fun for once." Dipper sighed and set the duster on the table, grabbing a soda and sitting on the rug. Mabel watched him and looked at Stan.

"I think that's the best answer you'll get out of him," she determined. Stan shrugged and walked out of the living room, leaving Mabel to run to the door.

"Hi! Welcome to-" she stopped upon seeing Pacifica Northwest standing at her door. She frowned and slammed the door.

Dipper looked up at her. "What was that?" She waved it off.

"Oh, nothing."

"Hello? Mabel! Let me in already!" Pacifica's voice came through the door. Dipper frowned at his sister.

"I don't want her here!" Mabel protested, crossing her arms. Dipper rolled his eyes.

"I don't want her here as much as you do, but it's free for _all_the kids and we're obligated to let her stay."

"Um, hello?! I can hear you!" Mabel sighed and pulled open the door. Pacifica smirked and flipped her blond hair over her shoulder.

"It's about time! Now come on, let's get this stupid night over with." Mabel rolled her eyes and looked at the door to see her other guests.

To her surprise, Candy and Grenda stood outside, beaming and holding a bucket of popcorn. Mabel grinned.

"Candy! Grenda!" She yelled, pulling her friends into the shack, "I can't believe you guys came!"

"Why wouldn't we?" Candy asked, sticking her fork-taped hand into the bucket. Pulling out a few pieces, she offered one to Mabel, who took it happily.

"This is awesome! Nothing can make this bad again!"

"Hello, my fellow children!" Mabel looked from behind Grenda and gasped. Gideon stood in the doorway, smiling cheerfully as if he weren't a complete psycho.

"AHHHHH! DIPPER!"

"Ugh, what Mabel? I was relaxi-GAH!" Dipper suddenly paused and cleared his throat. "Uh, Gideon? What are you doing here?"

"You little freak," Mabel muttered under her breath. Dipper nudged her with his elbow and tried to stifle a laugh.

Gideon smiled uncomfortably. "Listen, I know I've done some harsh things-"

"Almost cutting my tongue out comes to mind," Dipper added. Behind him, Candy winced.

"Well, I wanted to make up for that, and really try to get to know y'all." Dipper and Mabel stared at him. Gideon sighed. "That wasn't believable, was it?"

"Nope," Mabel said, shaking her head.

"Alright, alright. My dad dropped me off here thinking that I could use some…um, what's the word?"

"Company?" Mabel tried.

"Rehab?" Dipper suggested blatantly. Mabel punched him.

"Naw, that's not it…what was it?! Oh yeah, fr-fr, ugh, I can't even say it."

"_Friends?!"_The twins said in disgusted unison. Mabel looked at the floor.

"Oh, all right. But try anything and that bat," she threatened, pointing at a baseball bat in the corner, "Is going down your throat. Clear?" Gideon gulped and smiled nervously.

"Crystal," he whimpered, joining the others in the living room. Dipper and Mabel followed reluctantly.

"Jeez Mabel, wasn't that a little harsh?" She shrugged.

"No pain, no game." Dipper rolled his eyes.

"That makes no sense." Mabel smiled.

"And you expected me to? You're slipping brother," she said, poking him playfully. He laughed and sat back on the rug.

Pacifica sat next to him, texting furiously. He gave her a puzzled look and, as if she sensed it, looked up. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'll give it up. But if my friends don't hear from me, I blame it on you." He shrugged.

"Don't worry, my conscience won't ache at night due to that." She sneered at him as he laughed and watched Mabel dump a pile of board games in the center of the circle the kids had formed. Everyone stared at them as if they'd come from another planet.

"Really?" Pacifica asked, picking up a game with the ends of her fingers, like it was dipped in radioactive waste.

"What?" Mabel asked innocently.

"Mabel," Grenda said, "We've played all of these games before." Candy nodded.

"Something else, please?" Gideon studied the pile.

"I think I own like seven of those."

"I think I own eight," Pacifica replied. Mabel looked almost hurt. The former nudged Dipper.

"What?"

"Do something! If she starts crying, this won't even have a chance of being almost fun." Dipper pressed his palm against his forehead.

"Okay, um, Mabel? Can we try to find a game that's sort of new to us?" She looked at him.

"Okay!" she said, suddenly cheerful. "I think I saw a different one up in our room!"

She dashed up to the attic, throwing open the trap door. Looking around for a second, she smiled and ducked onto the floor. Mabel peeked under her bed.

"I know it's here somewhere," she muttered. "What happened to-aha! Here it is!" Mabel pulled a dusty old cardboard box out.

She blew on it lightly, and a cloud of dust flew into her face. Mabel coughed and ran her hand against the game's surface.

"Hmm, _Myth Wars._Sounds like fun!"

"Mabel!" Dipper called. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing! I just found the game!"

"Then come _on_already!" Pacifica's voice added. "Are we just going to sit here and wait for my nails to chip?!" Mabel rolled her eyes and headed back downstairs.

"Okay guys," she announced, kicking aside the other games and dropping hers in the middle of their circle. "Who's ready for game night?!"

Dipper smiled at his sister as she sat down on his other side. He flipped open the game lid, making more dust come up. Everyone coughed. He waved away some dust and pulled out the instructions.

Opening the little book, he was surprised to see that it folded out into a pamphlet that stretched up to Gideon…who was sitting across the circle from him. Everyone groaned.

"Ugggh," Pacifica complained, "I'm _allergic_to instructions!" To top it off, she sneezed. Dipper laughed lightly.

"Okay, should we read them and learn how to play, or toss 'em and learn as we go?"

"SECOND OPTION! SECOND OPTION!" Mabel screamed. Dipper held his ears until she stopped.

"Okay, okay!" He smiled deviously. "Okay, who wants to bet that it makes it into the lemonade?"

"I'll bet you five bucks that you can't do it," Gideon offered.

"Without looking!" Grenda added. Candy nodded and giggled, shoveling popcorn into her mouth.

"With a backwards throw," Pacifica said, pulling out her wallet. Dipper smiled.

"I'll take that bet!" He laughed as Mabel tied a cloth around his head. "Okay, you ready?"

"YEAH!" Dipper tossed it behind him. It sailed over them and landed directly in the lemonade pitcher.

"WHOO!" Dipper smiled and pulled off the blindfold, turning around to see his results. With a smug look, he held out his hand, allowing Gideon, Grenda, and Pacifica to laugh and pay him.

"Nice throw," Pacifica managed, giving him a little smirk. Dipper was almost able to smile at her.

"Alright everybody," Mabel said, lifting the board out of the box, "Let's get this game night started!"

Everyone reached into the box and grabbed a game piece. "Sweet!" Mabel said excitedly, holding up a little silver-colored yarn ball.

Dipper looked at his small magnifying glass.

"I have glasses!" Candy added, showing off her piece.

"Is this scaring anybody else?" Gideon asked, holding up his little metal tie.

"Um, right here!" Pacifica replied. Dipper glanced over at hers. _Huh, that fits. It's a mirror._

"Alright, alright. Leave the strangely-fitting game pieces alone guys. Let's actually _play_the game!" Dipper said, stacking the cards.

"Okay," he said. "Who gets the first turn?" Everyone's hand shot up. Dipper sighed and put his hand over his eyes.

"Eenie, meenie, miney, you," he chanted, pointing at a random person. _Please don't let it be her, please don't let it be her!_

He opened his eyes reluctantly. To his relief, he'd pointed at Candy. He smiled at her.

"Okay Candy, go ahead and go." She looked a little confused, but she placed her piece on the board and rolled the die.

"Seven? Is that possible?" Dipper blinked.

"I have no idea." Pacifica groaned.

"Just go already!" she commanded, filing her nails. "But let me go next!" Dipper rolled his eyes as Candy shrank away from the board.

"It's okay Candy, you can still move the piece," he reassured her. _That's weird. Normal die don't go up to seven. Is this game even normal?_

Hesitantly, she moved her piece across the board. Dipper glanced down at her position. "Okay, so it looks like, wait, where are you?"

"Here." He jumped, not realizing that she had moved across the circle and sat next to him.

"Whoa!" Mabel said, smiling brightly. "How'd you do that?!" Candy shrugged.

"But no one saw you move, did they?" The others shook their heads. Dipper shrugged and looked back at the game.

"Okay Candy," Mabel said cheerfully, "It looks like you have to pull a card from the deck!" She pulled one card up and stared at it, looking puzzled.

"Um… it says, 'Harpies carry you off and place you in custody. Lose a Turn.'." Everyone was stunned.

"What kind of game _is_this?" Pacifica asked. "Harpies? What the heck are those?"

"Hey everybody, calm down," Dipper said, pulling a card. "I bet it's just a bad card. See! This one says…what?"

"What's it say Dipper?!" Mabel asked. He looked a little uncomfortable.

"It…um, says…" Pacifica groaned and snatched it out of his hand.

"Just let me read it!" she cleared her throat and gave the card an unimpressed look. "Hmm, 'You have been tried as a witch and placed into custody.' What's with this game and jailing people?!"

Suddenly, Candy moaned. Everyone looked at her.

"Everything okay?" Dipper asked. She groaned and held her stomach.

"Pain…pain is not good," she mumbled.

"Say wha?"

"Is that normal behavior?" Gideon asked, pointing to her. Pacifica held her head and ears, as if she'd heard some bad feedback from a microphone.

"AGGHH!" she groaned, looking pained. "Bad things…bad things are going on in my head!" Mabel scooted a little closer to her brother.

"Dipper…" she mumbled, sounding wary.

"Wait, _where's Candy?!_" Grenda yelled. They looked around. Without moving, their friend had disappeared.

"Where's Pacifica?!" Gideon asked, looking around nervously. "Is this normal for game night?!"

"Guys?!" a small voice said. It sounded like it had come from under the floorboards. Grenda looked around frantically.

"Candy?! Where are you?"

"Um, HELLO?! NO ONE CARES WHAT HAPPENED TO THE RICH GIRL?!" another one yelled.

"No!" Dipper yelled instinctively. He paused. "Wait, where'd that come from?"

"How do we even know it was Pacifica?" Mabel asked.

"I'M DOWN HERE, MY MOST INTELLIGENT PEERS!"

"Yep, that's her." Dipper said, looking at the carpet. "But where- OH MY GOD!" His face morphed into a look of pure horror and he backed away from the game board.

"WHAT?! What's going on?!" his sister asked, holding her hands over her head protectively.

"P-P-Pa…" he muttered weakly.

"Pacifica?" Grenda asked, tilting her head slightly.

"G-g-game…" Dipper pointed weakly at the game board. The others looked down at the colorful piece of cardboard.

"I don't see any-" Mabel began, her eyes widening. A miniature Pacifica stood on top of a silver mirror, the toy about as wide as her feet. Candy stood nearby, trying to balance on her pair of glasses.

"G-game…" Dipper tried again, but Mabel and the others beat him to it.

"GAME PIECE!" they yelled in unison. Dipper suddenly found his voice.

"Hey, that's what I was going to say!" he said, joining the others in leaning over the game board.

"CAN SOMEONE HELP ME OUT HERE INSTEAD OF SHOVING YOUR FACES IN MY LINE OF VISION?!" Pacifica yelled. Mabel pouted.

"Can we keep her that way and lock her in a drawer?"

"I'm down for that," her twin agreed. Dipper shook his head. "No, that'd be mean. We'd forget about her and she'd die. Do you wanna be tried for murder?"

Mabel took another look at Pacifica and shrugged. Dipper decided to ignore it and focus on Candy.

"Are you hurt?" She looked down at herself.

"Stomach pain has stopped, but tiny size is not much better," she determined.

"What do you think caused this?" Mabel asked worriedly, picking up Candy and balancing her in her palm. Grenda simply stared at the board game, taking a card from the deck.

Dipper thought quietly, while Grenda examined the card.

"It says, 'Enemy dragons have torched your home and taken you into custody,'" she read. "Man, this game sure likes to take away your players."

Suddenly, Grenda moaned and held her stomach. Mabel almost dropped Candy as the two watched their friend disappear into silvery wisps of mist.

"GAH!" Mabel screamed, this time really dropping Candy.

"AHHH!" she screamed. "Mmph!" Dipper had reached out and caught her, setting her back onto the board. He studied her carefully.

"Have those been on your feet the whole time?" he asked, pointing at her glasses-shaped game piece. She looked down at them and shrugged.

Dipper waved it off, and turned toward his sister, who was frozen in shock.

"Okay, new rule: no picking up our tiny friends."

"Grenda…" she said softly, pointing at the game board. Dipper gasped.

Standing on top of a small metallic lizard was her other best friend. She waved her arms frantically. "Hey guys! I'm so tiny! Check it out, I'm standing on a lizard!"

The little Pacifica laughed. "Hey look, for once Grenda doesn't sound like a wrestler!" Everyone shot her a glare.

"Hey, you don't sound so normal yourself!" Mabel yelled defensively. Dipper laughed.

"Yeah, you sound like a chipmunk who's been hitting too much helium!" The other game piece kids laughed. Suddenly Dipper stopped.

"Wait, where's Gideon?" Everyone automatically looked at the game board.

"I'm here!" he called, stepping out of the gift shop. Dipper looked at him.

"What were you doing?" He shrugged.

"The whole 'kids shrinking after reading game cards' thing was kind of creeping me out."

"So you went to the gift shop?"

"I shop when I'm nervous!" he said, defensively crossing his arms. Dipper ignored him and stared at the game board.

"Wait, Gideon, say that again."

"I shop when I'm nervous?"

"No, the thing about being creeped out."

"Oh, the 'kids turning into game pieces after reading cards thing'. Now I get what you're saying." Dipper smiled lightly.

"That's it! That's why you're turning into game pieces! I bet you all we need to do is find a good card, and they'll switch back!" Mabel gave him a braces-filled smile.

She lifted a chunk of cards off the deck and spread them on the carpet. Gideon sat down on the carpet, picking one up warily.

The picked through the pile, trying to find a good card. For some reason, every card ended up with them taken into confinement.

"Anything yet?" Dipper asked, flinging a card behind him. He didn't see it fly into the lemonade with the instruction manual.

Mabel shook her head. "All mine says is, 'Thugs for the enemy have brought you down. Go straight to custody.'" Dipper's eyes widened.

"Mabel, NO!" She gasped and held her sides. Quickly, she dissolved into the mist. Dipper and Gideon watched the game board as she reappeared, standing on her small yarn ball.

"Aw man, I read the card out loud, didn't I?"

Gideon nodded as Dipper slapped his palm against his forehead and took a deep breath. "Okay, okay. It's just you and me now. We have to find a positive card, and quickly." Gideon groaned and picked up the die.

Tossing it idly, he watched it land on the seven. Suddenly, Pacifica's piece lurched forward, landing on a bright yellow patch.

"Whoa! Hey, watch it up there!" she scolded. Gideon studied the patch she'd landed on. She glared up at him. "Quit checkin' me out, you little freak!" He blinked.

"Challenge…accepted?" he read. She looked at her feet.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Suddenly, the patch under her crumbled. She screamed. "Someone help me!" Mabel glanced at her.

"Should I?" Dipper glared at her. Pacifica was gripping the sides of the board as it gave way to a pit that glowed orange at the bottom. He had a horrible feeling that there was something worse than a magic game waiting for her.

"I can't be tried for murder," he chanted, holding his head, "I can't be tried for murder!" He grabbed a card off the deck, and before anyone could stop him, read it aloud. In seconds, he was standing on his metal magnifying glass.

"GIDEON!" he ordered, "Roll a seven!" He glanced at the opening in the game. It had expanded, and it slowly approached the spot where his sister stood. She screamed. Dipper's eyes widened. "Now!"

"How do I know you'll be the one to move?!" Dipper thought for a second. He heard another scream, and he watched Candy teeter into the void, gripping the cardboard sides.

_Wait a sec, that's it!_"Gideon! Candy went first, and Pacifica wanted to go second. I call going third!" he announced.

Gideon rolled the die. It landed on a four. Dipper lurched forward. He looked down at the writing for the patch he was standing on. The void was stretching to the other side of the board, where Grenda stood on her lizard.

"Uh, Dipper?" she called. "Please tell me you can stop this!"

"I'm working on it!" he promised.

"Dipper!" Pacifica's voice yelled. "Have you forgotten about me?!"

"Not to be rude, but we are not in ideal situation!" Candy called.

"Okay, it says I get another turn! Gideon, roll again!" He threw the die, and it landed on a two. Luckily for Dipper, it took him only up to the edge of the void. He bent over as well as he could without falling, and reached out to Candy. Pacifica dangled under her.

"I gotcha!" he assured her, grabbing her hand. Pacifica grabbed Candy's foot. "Whoa!" An orange mist curled up out of the void, and the mere presence of it heated up the entire pit.

Dipper teetered at the edge, and he could almost swear that he heard Mabel tell Gideon to roll again. Suddenly, she was at his side, holding his other arm back.

"Don't worry," she said, trying to be cheerful, "Everything's all rainbows and glitter from here!"

"What if you don't want rainbows and glitter?!" Pacifica asked.

"I don't know, deal with it?!"

"But why rainbows and glitter?"

"I _like_rainbows and glitter!"

"Um, excuse me," Candy I intervened. "But can we get saved now?" Dipper pulled slightly, and the girls inched up the side of the pit.

Mabel grabbed him, picked him up, and scooted backward.

"Two questions: one, how are you doing that, and second: why are you able to pick me up?" She shrugged and threw him back onto the game board, pulling the girls up with him.

"Whoa!" they yelled as they fell, sprawling onto the board in all directions. "How were you able to move backward?" Dipper asked.

"I guess the game pieces in this game can move backward without commands. They suddenly heard a distant yell.

The void was slowly inching its way toward Grenda. She hopped backward away from it, finally tripping and landing on the _START_line.

"She's only a few spaces away!" Mabel yelled happily.

"And the void's stopped growing!" Dipper pointed out. They all glanced at it. Sure enough, it had stopped, but the hot orange mist was still rising. An echoing hiss circled the kids. Even Gideon looked wary.

"That's not natural." He randomly tossed the die. It landed on the five. "All players, advance! Rendezvous at the START point!" Immediately, the four near the pit were flung backward, narrowly avoiding crashing. They were all righted, so they all stood up straight.

"Is that even possible?!" Mabel screamed up at him. He shrugged.

"I don't know! I panicked!" The mist made a strange breathing sound, as if it were laughing.

"Foolish player, you've given up a valuable secret that can be used against you in our little game," a voice whispered. The mist thickened, and glowing orange limbs formed until the kids were looking at an orange woman, cloaked in sunset robes.

"Hello." she said calmly. Her yellow eyes focused on Gideon. "Are you ready to play?" He gulped and looked behind him.

"Are you talking to me?" She smiled.

"Yes dear boy…you _are_the player of this game, right?"

"Uh…" he watched as she looked down at the board, which had miraculously healed, looking the way it had before: an almost normal, homicidal, custody-obsessed children's game to play with the whole family.

"Ah!" she continued. "And I see you've already set out your prisoners! Wonderful! Now, let's start, shall we?"

"Wait a second, what kind of game is this?" She blinked, as if she were surprised.

"Well, I would think that you knew! No matter, I shall explain the rules to you once again!" She glanced around the room and gasped. "What is my instruction manual doing in a jar of…er, what is that human drink again?"

Gideon glanced at it, and then back to her. "It, um, adds flavor! Yeah, that's it. So, um…ma'am, what were you saying before?"

"Oh, yes, silly me, I forgot. Now then, as I was saying, you'll need to know the rules." She waved her hand and the instructions flew out of the jar, drying instantaneously.

A pair of reading glasses appeared, perching onto the woman's nose.

"Ah, yes, here they are. The basic rules of the game are to rescue your pawns, er, _pieces_, as you humans call them, from their prison. You are allowed to have one free so that you are to play the game against the Keeper." Gideon blinked.

"The Keeper?" She smiled proudly.

"Yes, yes, that's me! I am the Keeper of Games. Oh, I've been around for ages, you know. Not to brag or anything, but I'm kind of unbeatable." To Gideon, her cheerful smile didn't really seem to take the edge off the fact that she was telling him he was destined to lose.

"Okay, sooo," he said, prying her for a further explanation. She sighed.

"Don't you humans ever know anything?! Choose your pawn boy, and we'll begin!"

"What happens if I win?"

"Well, naturally, if you manage to win, which is highly unlikely I should add, your pawns are all freed, and they return to human form. If you _lose_, however, you're friends are made immortal; game pieces to be mine to play _forever_."

Gideon gulped and pulled on his collar. "Uh, alright then, let's play." She smiled coldly, as if imagining how well his friends would look in her piece gallery.

"Choose your pawn, boy."

"I, um, pick…" he looked down at his miniature friends. Dipper waved his hands frantically.

"Dude, pick me! I've figured out this game; I can help you get the others!"

"No, pick me!" Pacifica yelled. "I need to get _out of here!"_Gideon rolled his eyes and pointed at Dipper. He lurched forward.

The others were suddenly surrounded in a yellow glow. The Keeper smiled. "Perfect. Pawns have been chosen, and it's time to play."  
"Wait, aren't you playing?" She shook her head.

"Sadly, this is a one-player game. However, I will stay on the side of the board, and watch you as you advance. Good fortune, young player."

With that, the Keeper waved her hand, and the die flew into Gideon's hand. "Your turn."


	2. Do Not Pass START

The game started brutally. Gideon rolled a six, and Dipper was almost launched into a pit of lava(he should be considered lucky that Gideon managed to roll a three in time).

Next, he rolled four, and Dipper had to survive being chased by dog-seal-goat-hybrid women with writhing vipers for hair. This time, Gideon hadn't rolled a three until his sixth try. By the time he was freed, his hat was missing(he believed it was smoldering in a corner), and he had a black eye.

"Dude, do me a solid," he mumbled, "And not roll a two. I think that thing over there's on fire." He pointed weakly at something burning in the corner and swayed. Gideon glanced at the Keeper.

"Am I allowed to switch him out? I think he needs some rest." She smirked.

"Only if the next card you pick is positive. Then you can withdraw another pawn. If not, your pawn is placed-"

"Yeah, yeah, we know. _In custody._ Good gravy, get another word!" She huffed and crossed her arms, looking offended.

"Well then, _someone's_ got an attitude." He ignored her and picked up a card. Closing his eyes, he warily peeked at it.

To Dipper's surprise, he smiled. "Alright! 'You break into, ugh, there's that word again, custody and free one ally.'"

"Get Mabel!" Dipper screamed. Gideon pointed at the START point where his friends stood frozen. His sister's glow faded and she was sped to his point.

"Dipper!" she screamed, hugging him. He laughed, clearly pained.

"Heh heh, yeah, ow! Mabel, be careful." She recoiled.

"Sorry!" she said, rubbing his arm. He winced.

"Not helping, not helping at all." Mabel shot a look up at Gideon.

"Okay, I'm here. Let him rest now!" Gideon nodded and Dipper disappeared. Across the board, he reappeared at the "custody zone", but no yellow glow surrounded him.

"Dipper, are you okay?" Candy asked. He smiled weakly.

"Thank God for START points," he said, immediately collapsing. The girls gasped, but Mabel raised a hand.

"Leave him; he always sleeps like that when he's wiped out." The girls glanced at him, but they did as they were told, which seemed really rare considering Pacifica.

Mabel looked up at Gideon, determination glittering in her eyes.

"Let's go win a game!"

-

Mabel did better than her brother. Her first try, Gideon managed to roll a one, moving her up to a weapons upgrade. She chose a gilded sword with golden and silver vines carved through the blade.

"This is so _sparkly!"_ she screeched excitedly after receiving the weapon. Gideon swore that he saw the Keeper scowl.

The next turn, she got a few enemies. Her brother's hybrid monsters had returned, but she faced them bravely.

"_THIS_," she announced as she slashed one's neck. "Is for hurting my brother!" Mabel was a tornado, blasting through enemies and obstacles like a demon.

Gideon pulled another card from the deck. "It says, 'Choose one ally to guide you through enemy territory.'" Mabel smiled.

"Candy! Come on girl, you can't stay at START forever!" Candy blushed, but accepted. Instantly, she was at Mabel's side.

"I will fight with best friend," she said confidently. Gideon studied the card. "Oh, wait, it says something else! 'Ally is equipped with one weapon.'" Candy studied the terrain laid out in front of them. It was riddled with swampy marshes, and glowing figures loomed in the darkness.

"I choose bow and arrow," she said finally. A bronze bow appeared in her hand, and a leather quiver was slung across her back. She smiled. "I am not good at sports," she admitted, "But I have good grades. I am smart. I think I can shoot."

Mabel smiled as they charged into the swamp. Immediately, a giant water snake rose out of the murky water. It hissed, and drips of black ooze flew everywhere.

Mabel cringed. "Ugh, dude! Get a breathmint or something! It wouldn't kill you!" She motioned to Candy, who shot an arrow straight into it's mouth as it began another boisterous hiss. It screeched angrily, spilling green blood as it sank into the water. Mabel smiled brightly at Candy.

"Whoohoo! Nice shot, girl!" She high fived her friend and laughed. The Keeper laughed lightly.

"Cheer now, young heroes, for you'll have greater things to face in the near future." The girls looked at her.

"Near future?" Candy asked. "How near?" The Keeper blinked.

"Hmm, I guess it'd be about…now."

A roar rang through the girls' ears, nearly splitting their brains. Suddenly, a lion leaped out of the fog, waving it's tail wildly.

Mabel realized that it's tail wasn't normal. For one, it had a sharp point on the end, reminiscent of a scorpion. As it roared, it spread out it's huge bat wings.

"Manticore," Candy determined quietly. "Ancient bad guys of Greek myths. That tail," she continued, pointing, "Is poison. Do _not_ touch it!"

Mabel gulped and nodded.

"Oh, and darlings," the Keeper added. The girls looked up at her. "If you beat this monster, you can rescue an ally." They looked over at their friends. Grenda smiled and waved. Pacifica studied her nails. Dipper was still passed out cold on the floor.

Mabel shot an uncertain glance at Candy. "Well? Any preference?" She thought for a moment.

"Grenda can help us with her strength. She will be good with a hammer." Mabel smiled and shot Grenda a thumbs-up.

The latter grinned and clapped her hands excitedly. "Alright guys," she yelled encouragingly, "Go get 'em!"

Candy smiled at Mabel and faced the manticore, instantly equipping herself with an arrow. "I will distract, and then you come around and cut off the tail." Mabel blinked.

"YOU WANT ME TO ACTUALLY GET _NEAR_ THAT THING?!" she exploded. Candy calmly held up a hand.

"Tail is very dangerous, that is true."

"HECK YEAH IT'S TRUE!" The monster stopped and looked puzzled, as if he were studying them.

"If you cut off the tail, it cannot attack."

"Uh, Candy, IT STILL HAS FREAKING CLAWS!" The manitcore's upper lip twitched, as if it were forming a smile.

"It is simple plan Mabel," Candy tried. "If you are careful, you will not get hurt."

"Why can't you cut it off?!"

"I have arrows. Arrows cannot cut anything."

"Then we'll trade. Here, you take the sword, and I'll take the arrows." Mabel reached for Candy's bow, but the other girl scooted back, hugging it close to her.

"Uh-uh," she said, shaking her head. Mabel scowled and lunged for the bow, grabbing onto the end of it.

"Give it Candy! If it's so simple, why don't you do it!"

"No! I am distraction!" As the girls bickered, the manticore began to make a strange breathy noise, as if it were laughing.

It flung itself onto the floor, it's paws clutching it's sides. The girls paused and looked at it.

"It's distracted," Mabel said, cracking a small smile and releasing her grip on the bow. Candy held it to her protectively.

"Yes," she said, smiling as well. "Yes it is! Now is chance; we cut tail off together!" She loaded an arrow, and aimed, but Mabel stopped her.

"Wait! Why just go for the tail!" She smiled deviously and pointed at it's head. Candy looked sad for a second, but she shook her head and shot.

The lion dissolved into orange mist. The Keeper growled lightly.

"Alright," she hissed, glowing brighter. "You win your other pawn." Gideon scooted away from her.

"Uh, lady, are you okay?" She blinked and returned to normal.

"Oh, um, excuse that please; I need to work on being less competitive." Gideon smiled nervously and watched the game board.

"Okay girls, let's get Grenda out of there and get you through that swamp!"

"Got it!" Gideon pointed at the START point and Grenda sped to the girls.

"Alright! Let's get this party started!" A hammer materialized in Grenda's hand. She flipped it in her palm.

"You guys ready?" Mabel and Candy nodded.

"Let's go win a game!"


	3. Have We Won Yet?

The girls blazed through the game, with tons of help from Grenda. For a stockier girl, she moved like lightning, knocking out a monster, or shooing away harpies any time anything approached her and her friends.

Soon, they'd reached their next challenge. Gideon pulled a card from the deck.

"'You've reached a dangerous place of darkness and misery. If you turn back, you will lose one ally. If you choose to proceed, you gain one ally to help you through. The path to victory lies beyond the Land of Shadows.' Well ladies, what will it be?"

"Duh!" Mabel yelled. "Let's get our ally and go!"

"Are you sure Mabel?" Grenda asked cautiously. Mabel waved her hand dismissively.

"We've been through enough with this game. Whatever we need to face to get our next ally, bring it on!"

Gideon sighed and set the card down, and Mabel heard him mutter something about her funeral. She ignored it and glanced at her friends on the START point. Dipper had woken up, and with a little help from Pacifica, gotten to his feet on the magnifying glass.

However, his face was flushed and he still looked exhausted. Those hybrid monsters had kicked his butt hard.

That meant that Mabel had only one strong ally; the one she'd been dreading choosing all evening. She sighed and pressed her palm to her forehead.

"Okay, _fine_. I knew I'd have to do it sooner or later." She looked up at Gideon. "Free Pacifica." He gave her a grim look and pointed at her.

Even as she rushed up to meet them, the girl was already complaining.

"I can't _believe_ it took you this long! I've been _rotting_ over there, trying to wake up your stupid brother! I just want to get out of here and get to my phone!" Mabel had to grip the ends of her sweater to keep from lunging at her.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "We're one ally away from winning. All we need to do is complete the course and free my brother."

"Whatever," Pacifica muttered. Mabel tried to ignore her as she faced ahead of her.

Dark curls of black shadows rose from the cardboard, collecting until nothing but inky darkness tunneled ahead of them. Mabel gulped as tortured screams echoed from inside.

"Well, are you ready?" Pacifica looked disgusted.

"We have to go _in there?!_ Oh no, definitely NOT!" Mabel groaned.

"Do you want to go home or not?!"

"Is that even a smart question? Of course I do!" Mabel clenched her fist around her sword.

"Then _shut up and come on,"_ she hissed finally, stepping into the tunnel before anyone could say anything else.

For a moment, none of the girls moved, simply staring at the black tunnel.

"_COME ON!_" Mabel screamed from inside. They tensed and headed inside.

Inside, the tunnel matched it's exterior perfectly, except for the new addition of a bone-chilling temperature.

Pacifica examined the dark walls and shuddered. "This place could use some pink…like everywhere."

"I'm with you on that, sister," Grenda said. "And where's Mabel!"

"I'm up here!" a voice called from further in the tunnel. A little noise came towards them, like little feet running. A few moments later, Mabel stood in front of them, her sword drawn and glowing like a light. Suddenly, she looked at her feet.

"Isn't it weird how we move on these pieces?" she asked.

"Yeah, I was noticing that!" Grenda added, looking at her feet.

"It is like we are walking, but the piece moves as we walk, like treadmill," Candy chimed in.

"Are you all SERIOUSLY having this conversation in the middle of a dark tunnel filled with dangerous creatures that could kill us without a second thought?!" Pacifica yelled, breaking the conversation.

Mabel glared pointedly at her. "You know, I'd be perfectly fine with letting you forfeit and stay as that Keeper lady's pawn for all eternity."

Pacifica returned the glare. "And then you'd be tried for murder, and you don't wanna get your precious brother in trouble, do you?"

"Why would _I_ be tried?"

"Because this would be the last place I was seen before I disappeared, and they'll suspect me as dead." _Wow, this girl's smarter than she lets on. I hate her even more for it._

"Just come on," she finally muttered, grabbing a lock of Pacifica's blond hair and dragging her along by it.

The latter swatted at her hand, screaming, "Ow, hair, ow, hair, ow, HAIR!" Candy glanced at Grenda.

"Remind me to not get on Mabel's bad side." Grenda nodded gravely and followed the girls further into the tunnel.

After walking for a while, Mabel finally released Pacifica's hair, leaving light grooves where her hands had been.

"Ow…" she mumbled, combing through it with her fingers. Mabel smiled lightly and held her glowing sword out in front of her. Surprisingly, a stone wall stood in front of them, with no signs of a way out.

Pacifica groaned. "Now what?!" An orange glow suddenly illuminated the cave.

The girls turned and gasped. There stood the Keeper, an entirely menacing scowl glued to her face. The girls screamed.

"Whoa," Mabel yelled. "What'd we do wrong?!"

"You can't win!" the Keeper hissed. "No one _ever_ wins!" Her face twisted into a cruel smile. "So, little wannabe heroes, your final challenge is to battle…_ME!"_

The Keeper's glow brightened until she stood ten feet tall. Mabel's eyes widened. "Wait! Don't we get at least one of our allies?!" The Keeper laughed coldly.

"Fine," she spat, "But it won't help at all." With a wave of her hand, Dipper materialized and was thrown onto the board in front of the girls. Mabel reached down and helped him to his feet.

"Are you alright?" He brushed himself off, and somehow his hat had returned. He straightened it and looked at the girls with stony concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He glared up at the Keeper. "But we have to defeat her. Gideon's trapped in a bubble, and every second he loses more oxygen. If we don't win in," he glanced at his watch, "Three minutes tops, he'll be gone; turned into another one of her game pieces."

Mabel gasped. "That's terrible!" She analyzed her brother. "Do you have a weapon?"

He pulled out a slingshot. "Does this answer your question?" She gave him a braces-lined smile, but it faded quickly.

"But Pacifica doesn't have one." She scoffed.

"Trust me, hon, I don't need one." Mabel decided not to question her, and turned to the Keeper.

"So, are my little players ready to fight?" They smirked up at her.

"We're ready," Dipper said. "Do your worst." She smiled and raised her hand.

"DUCK!" Dipper ordered. They did as they were told, deflecting just in time as a blazing fireball shot out of her hand and hit the wall behind them.

"Candy!" Mabel yelled. Her friend was one step ahead of her. As the Keeper began to form another fireball, Candy loaded her bow and fired.

The arrow sailed through the air, dissolving the fire instantly. The Keeper howled in rage and burst into flames.

Sweat dripped down the kids' faces, but none of them moved. In fact, Pacifica stood up straighter.

"Ha! Is that all you've got?! I can start a grill that's got a bigger flame than that!" The Keeper's flames grew brighter.

"Whatever," Pacifica said, looking bored. "I've seen that in about a thousand movies…and I think I may own them all." The Keeper screamed, and bats swooped in, diving at the kids. Pacifica snorted.

"Bats? Really? Grenda can deflect those easily." Right on cue, she began swinging at them, and soon, dazed bats fluttered around the cave, lopsided and confused. As more waves came, Grenda stepped back, silently volunteering to handle them.

The Keeper looked irritated and waved her hand. Giant ravens appeared and dived down for an aerial attack.

"Candy," Pacifica called, biting the edge of her nail.

"On it!" she yelled, shooting arrows like lightning. Birds dropped out of the sky like raindrops. The Keeper growled.

"You think you're all that, don't you, you little twerp?" Pacifica blinked.

"A _twerp?"_ The Keeper smiled harshly.

"Yes, a twerp with cheap clothes, and petty interests."

"_C-CHEAP CLOTHES?!_ DIPPER!" she screamed, switching to full-on brat mode. A bag of stones appeared in Dipper's pocket. He grinned and loaded his slingshot, taking shot after shot straight at the Keeper. She stumbled slightly, and Mabel dashed behind her, slicing at her feet with her sword.

Pacifica let out an ear-piercing scream, and the Keeper held her ears. With Mabel at her feet, and Dipper hitting her from the front, she stepped backward. Mabel saw an opportunity and propped her beautiful sword under her foot.

"I'll miss you," she whispered before diving out of the way. Just as she planned, the Keeper stepped back onto the sword and yelped in pain. Golden light spilled from the gash in her foot, and she grasped it. trying to subside the pain.

Finally, she fell backward, and the kids rushed to her, giving her the full force of their weapons. Mabel resorted to simply smacking the giant woman, and Pacifica kept screaming in her ear.

_That girl has lungs like a swimmer!_ Dipper thought, trying to ignore the noise. After a good shot to the head by Candy, the Keeper finally took a deep breath.

"You-you win. I can't believe it," she admitted. "You are free to go." She then closed her eyes, and blinding light filled the cave.

When the kids opened their eyes, they gasped. Gideon was sitting on the floor, taking deep breaths, and there were no metallic shapes on their feet. Dipper laughed in delight.

Mabel grinned and threw her arms around her friends, and then her brother, and then even Pacifica, who'd immediately grabbed her phone and began texting like a maniac.

Dipper walked to the center of the room, where the game box sat, smoldering. Carefully, he picked it up by the edges and dropped it into the trash can.

"Someone's a sore loser," he said, smirking at the trash can. He was pretty sure he'd heard it scream, but he ignored it and closed the lid.


	4. Never Again?

After a few more hours of regular games, which everyone clearly enjoyed more than something new, the kids' parents started to come. As Mabel said goodbye, she stopped Pacifica.

"Does this mean that we're friends now?" She shrugged.

"Let's call it frenemies, and leave it at that." With that, she walked out the door, texting away.

Gideon approached Mabel bashfully. "Look, I know you don't really like me, but-" Mabel stopped him and hugged him.

"It's okay Gideon, I think you've proven yourself," she assured him, letting go. "But if you touch my brother again, _you'll_ be on the other end of those lamb shears."

He smiled and headed out the door. After another round of cheerful hugs with Candy and Grenda, the kids of Gravity Falls had all gone home.

Mabel looked at her brother as they laid on the carpet, watching television.

"We're never having another game night, are we?"

"Uh, maybe," he said with a shrug. _No! Never! Not in this lifetime!_

"I know that you're thinking 'no.'" Her smiled at her.

"Hey, why not? Anything's possible in Gravity Falls."


End file.
